Non-clogging aerosol valve



e; r 711 JUN I g- ,1 United Statesllatent [1113,543,971

[72] Inventor vRichard E. Trehameg-Jr. [5 6] References Cited e New Hampshire UNITED STATES PATENTS [211 PP 2,506,449 5/1950 Greenwood 222140221 [221 FM 0%31968 3,060,965 10/1962 Taggart 222/402.22x [451 Pmmd I 3,l98,394 8/1965 Lefer 222/402.21x 1 Assign Mmm'll'lnl 3,447,722 6/1969 Mason 222/136 Waterbury, Connecticut g a corporation f /m Primary Examiner-Stanley H. Tollberg Attorney-Ballett Hoopes ABSTRACT: An aerosol valve especially useful for dispensing owders, has a valve seating surface at the bottom of the valve [54] NON'CL GING AEROSOL VALVE head which coopjerates with a vertically movable seat inside Chin" Dawn's Fits the valve housing, to open or close an inlet port through the [52] 0.8. Cl...l ZZZ/402.22 valve head by a-tilt action of the valve stem. The seat moves [5 l] Int. Ch... 865d 83/00 clear of the valve when open to allow free flow, and the valve [50] 'Field ofSearch ..2'22/402.2lhead wipes across the seat in the closing action to clear the I 2.23, 136, I45 seating surface around the inlet port.

Patented Dec. 1, 1970 v, i III/Anvil I fi 4w 4 mg?! R INJEN IIOI'L J I a? re aYne I. BYM Hm ATTORNEY 1 NON-YCLQGGING AEROSOL VALVE This invention relates to aerosol valve assemblies especially intended for the dispensing of powders.

It has been found that with conventional aerosol valves the dispensing of powderswill result in contaminating the valve seat and blocking of the orifice leading to the valve stem.

It is the-general object of this invention to provide an improved valve which will operate satisfactorily to dispense powder and at the same time be capable of operation by a tilt action and furthermore admit a fast filling or gassing, after the manner ofthe patent to Briechle U.S. Pat. No. 3,158,298.

More specifically an object of the invention is to provide a valve which will allow for the free flow of powder by pushing the valve seat away from the valve face, in combination with a wiping action as the valve closes so that the valve face around the entrance port will be wiped clean against the surface of the valve'scat.

The above and other objects are accomplished in asimple and economical construction employinga valve seat retainer guided for vertical movement in a'valve housing, and acted upon by a spring which normally holds thevalve seat against a downwardly facing port in the valve head. The valve head has means which engages the retainer when the valve is tilted to force the retainer downwardly and open the valve.

In the accompanying drawings, 1 have shown for purposes of illustration two embodiments which the invention may assume in practice. In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a vertical central section of a valve assembly made in accordance with the invention and showing the valve closed;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but showing the valve open; g 1

FIG. 3 is a vertical central section of a modified construction with the valve closed;

FIG. 4 is a detailed cross section on line 4-4 of FIG. I; and

FIG. 5 is a detailed cross section on line 5-5 of FIG..3.

The valve assembly of FIGS. 1, Zand 3 includes a cap 6 with a top wall 7 having a central aperture 8, a valve housing 9 with a shoulder 10 which'is engaged by a portion 11 of the cap indented under the shoulder 10; and a gasket 12 of elastic material, such gasket being in the shape of a washer whose opening registers with the central opening 8 in the cap. The gasket is held in place against the underside of the cap wall 7 by means of the housing 9.

As in the above-mentioned Briechle patent, the shoulder portion 10 of the housing is castellated to provide grooves 13 which are best seen in FIG. 5. This permits fast filling by flow over the top of the gasket and through the grooves 13. A nipple 14 extends from the bottom wall 15 of the valve housing to serve as a connection for a dip tube 16. Y

A retainer 17 has a cup-shaped portion 18 at the top for receiving and holding a valve seat 19 which is preferably in the form of a flat circular disk of elastomeric material. The bottom portion of the retainer 17 as seen in FIG. 1 is formed as a hollow cylinder with a smooth interior surface 20,which has a sliding bit on a tubular boss ZI projecting upwardly from the wall 15 and this boss has lateral passages 22 to allow flow from the dip tube into the housing 9. A coil spring 23 rests on the bottom wall '15 and urges the valve seat retainer upwardly against a valve seating surface 34 on the valve head 35.

A tubular valve stem 36 projects upwardly from the head through the gasket 12 and opening 8 of the cap, and carries at its upper end a button or actuator 37 with a discharge passage 38. A stem entrance port 39 opens downwardly through the valve head and is somewhat smaller than the passage 40 fulcrum and also means to en age the retainer 17 and to force it downwardly. This 15 prefera ly in the form of a laterally pro- 10 jecting circular flange 41 so that when the valve is tilted as seen in FIG. 2 a corner portion 42 will act as a fulcrum and an opposite portion 43 engages the top edge of the cup shaped portion 18 of the valve seat retainer to push the valve seat 19 away from .the port 39- to afford a clear opening for the passage of the material to be dispensed.

During this action, of course, the spring 33 is somewhat compressed and the sliding bearing between the cylindrical surface 20 and the boss 21 will permit only vertical movement of the valve seat 19 and retainer 17.

The valve shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 is similar to the one which has already been described except for the guide structure of the valve seatretainer 17a. As indicated here the valve seat 19a can be a somewhat'smaller disk than the one shown in FIG. 1. Instead of a cylindrical boss, the retainer 17a is guided by bearing portions 50 extending outwardly from the upper portion 18a of the retainer and sliding along the cylindrical surface 51 of the valve housing 90. Of course, there must also be passages 52 between these guide portions 50 to allow flow through the valve housing around the top of the retainer.

In both cases it will be noted that the retainer 18 does not close against the valve head and that the seal is formed only around the port 39 which wipes across the valve sea during the tilt action so as to avoid contamination of the valve seat. At the same time when the valve is open the port moves entirely away from the seat allowing unimpeded flow.

Iclaim:

1. An aerosol valve assembly, the combination with a cap adapted to be secured to the mouth of a container and having a central opening, a valve housing secured to said cap and adapted'to extend into said container, and an annular gasket held in place by said housing against the underside of the cap, the gasket having a central hole registering with said opening:

a. of a valve having a hollow stem extending through said gasket and above said cap;

b. a head at the bottom of said stem having bearing means engaging the underside of said gasket laterally of said stern, said valve being tiltable about said bearing means as a fulcrum, said head having a central stem entrance port opening through a downwardly facing convex valve seating surface;

c. a valve seat retainer mounted for vertical movement in said housing below said head;

d. a flat, resilient valve seat fixed to said retainer facing upward toward said seating surface of the valve;

e. a spring acting upwardly on said retainer and normally holding said seat against the valve to close said stem inlet port; and A f. an upward cylindrical boss on the valve housing, the boss having a sliding seat, and the retainer having a downwardly facing circular recess which receives the boss to guide the retainer in its vertical movement;

whereby when the valve stem is tilted, a portion of the entrance port disengages the resilient valve seat to permit passage of fluid therethrough and upon returning to closed position, the convex seating surface wipes against the resilient valve seat to rid the surface of solids deposited thereon. 

